Admission to USNA or USAFA

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am currently finishing my junior year of High school and I am wondering my chances to gain admission to one of the two listed Academies.</p>

<p>Academics
3.5 GPA
AP Chem, AP US History- Scores on their way, B and A respectively for their grades. Other classes mix of regular and honors classes A-B average
30 Composite ACT
29 Math
29 Science
27 English
33 Reading</p>

<p>Athletics
Football for Two years JV level
Varsity Cross Country-Named Team Captain Two Years
JV Track</p>

<p>Extra-Cirricular
70+ Volunteer Hours
Member of FIRST robotics- Director of Engineering- 2 Years
Team made semifinals in the Las Vegas Competition</p>

<p>PS- Advice on NROTC and other ROTC options would also be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>First, to heck with your chances, apply anyway! That is the only way you will ever know for sure.</p>

<p>Having said that, your chances are okay; relatively speaking, considering that it is really hard to get in. Your chances are not spectacular but not out of reach either. Your GPA seems a little low, but perhaps you attend a very tough high school. ACT is solid, for USAFA and USNA, but not above average. Similar with your athletics. Very good that you were varsity CC team captain. USNA and USAFA will both like your robotics team activities.</p>

<p>Can you get in with your current level of performance? Yes. Will you be offered a “Letter of Assurance” which pretty much guarantees an appointment? Not likely.</p>

<p>Again, the only way to know is to apply.</p>

<p>I will start with Air Force ROTC, since it is simpler, in some ways. First, the Air Force really truly wants you to attend a state university in your state of residence. So, for Air Force, you need to make that assumption. Only 20% of scholarships can be used for private colleges or out of state universities. Second, you DO get to choose your college, as long as it has Air Force ROTC (or has a “cross town agreement” with a school with AFROTC). See this website for details on AFROTC scholarships:
<a href=“High School Scholarship Types | Scholarships | U.S. Air Force ROTC”>http://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/types&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Naval ROTC is very different. Basically, with the Navy you can attend any college, public or private, in any state. The big caveat here, though, is that the Navy picks the college – usually from your list of five preferred colleges. Obviously, the college does need to have NROTC (sorry, but sometimes the obvious is not obvious to everybody). In order to maximize your chances of getting the college of your choice, you should apply for the scholarship as soon as possible (next month). The reason for this is that the Navy assigns you to colleges on a “first come, first serve” basis; and each college has an upper limit in the number of NROTC scholarships allowed. So, personally, I think applying for the NROTC scholarship should take priority, in sequence, over AFROTC and probably over the academies as well. Another consideration is that you should not “reach” too high for the college you want to go to. For example, if you really want a Naval ROTC scholarship, it is not a good idea to choose Yale as your first choice. Why not? Because, if the Navy assigns your scholarship to Yale but you do not get admitted to Yale then you will go back to the bottom of the list for assignments to college. So, it is best to list five colleges that you feel confident will admit you. The good news, though, is that you do normally get to keep your scholarship in that situation.</p>

<p>Your grades and ACT scores should get you into most flagship state universities. They will not get you into any elite universities (Yale, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, etc…). However they will likely get you into some very good private colleges (Boston University, Tulane, University of Rochester, University of San Diego, Marquette, etc…). Even though you might not be a resident of Georgia, I would recommend serious consideration of Georgia Tech because of your clear engineering talents. It is a surprisingly underrated university. You might love it there, and probably can get in. See the following website which ranks GT as the 11th best engineering and technology university – in the world!
<a href=“Subject Ranking 2013-14: Engineering & Technology | Times Higher Education (THE)”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/subject-ranking/subject/engineering-and-IT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I was also going to have a link to the Naval ROTC website, but it seems down tonight. You will need to find that one yourself. Easy enough.</p>

3

<p>Thankyou Very much for your feedback, additionally needed to add some extra things to the whole profile. The robotics team named me our deans list candidate, which basically means I exemplify leadership and commitment among the team. I also have a great deal of foreign travel, and i have been exposed to different cultures. Do not know how much that is worth.</p>

4

<p>Being named deans list candidate for the robots team is definitely helpful.</p>

<p>Basically, the academies look at three core aspects – academics, athletics, and leadership. You are solid in all three, so that is good. Also the academies place applicants in one of four categories. I don’t remember the names, but the highest and best category is for applicants that are outstanding in all three categories listed above. You are not in that category, but I think you would be in the next category down. So, you have a good chance. However, you definitely need to pursue the ROTC scholarship path as your backup plan. If you tell me what state you live in, perhaps I can give additional guidance on colleges you might consider.</p>

5

<p>My brother is a USAFA grad (now retired). Your grades and such are fine. The big difference with the academies versus any other college is that it is more directly political. You would benefit by cultivating a relationship with your Congressional delegation. They have a limited number of apointments available. (more info on the service academy portions of cc ) If you are the child of a retired service member or Medal of Honor winner, you have additional opportunities such as Presidential or automatic appointments. (there are probably other options as well)</p>

<p>Keep fostering your leadership credentials. The Air Force covets cadets with leadership experience. I would presume the other services put heavy weight on that.</p>

6

<p>First let me say that I agree 100% with all that NROTCgrad has posted in this thread. Lots of accurate and helpful information.</p>

<p>

I would disagree with this assessment of the Congressional nomination process. Might it have been like this 50+ years ago? Possibly. Unlikely anymore. The vast majority of US Reps and Senators (Members Of Congress) don’t actuality do their own interviews of candidates seeking nominations. Most have committees comprised of former military officers, educators and others to assess and determine who should get a nomination. In addition many (not all) of these MOC will coordinate with other MOC within your state to help as many candidates as possible receive a nomination. Usually this method results in an impartial evaluation and the best candidates being selected. </p>

<p>I also think that you are a reasonably strong candidate for admission to the Service Academies. Couple of additional considerations:

  1. DoDMERB - At some point when applying to the various commissioning sources you will need to take a physical. This is handled by DoDMERB. If you apply (and are considered a qualified candidate) you will take this physical before you are chosen for an Appointment to a service academy (SA). The reverse is true for AFROTC/NROTC. If you are offered a scholarship THEN the military determines if you are physically qualified. The sooner you can get you SA application to the point of scheduling the DoDMERB the sooner you’ll find out if you are qualified. I’ve heard reports of up to 30% of applicants being not qualified or requiring waivers… Best to find out early what your status is and what you may need to work on. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Letters of recommendation - You’ll need them. Preferably from Math, Science and English teachers. Coaches are good also. Consider getting them NOW if your teachers are still available. Otherwise it is going to be difficult/impossible to find and motivate your teachers over the Summer break. When Fall classes begin they’ll be extremely busy. </p></li>
<li><p>AFROTC - An AFROTC scholarship should actually be considered a 2+2 scholarship. Two years with an option for two more at the Air Forces discretion. After your 3rd semester in college your you will need to be recommended (and selected) for Summer Field Training. You cannot keep your scholarship if you are not selected. Your chances of being selected vary according to your grades, college major, SAT/ACT scores, physical fitness, strength of Commander’s recommendation and choice of Air Force jobs. The following is this years results from this selection process. Keep in mind that the first line (nominated) are only those candidates that were chosen by their Detachments as cadets they would recommend. Many others started out during the freshman year and dropped out of the program or had other issues (such as low GPA) that prevented them from being recommended. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>2,650 cadets nominated
1,590 selected
1,060 non-selected</p>

<p>Overall Select Rate: 60%
Tech Select: 65.5%
Rated Selects: 60.4%
Non-Tech/non-rated select: 17%
Nurse Select Rate: 43%</p>

<p>Select Averages:
CGPA: 3.38
SAT/ACT: 1287/27
PFT: 96.8 </p>

7

<p>So in regards to ROTCgrad, I live in Arizona. Any information would be great. And thanks everyone for responding
So far my junior year grades are shaping up as a 3.666 and possible a 3.8 for the two symesters, so the grades would be an improvement</p>

8

<p>In Arizona, for Air Force ROTC, you will be limited to Arizona State, or U.Arizona, or Northern Arizona U. Very unlikely that you will get a scholarship which will pay for a private college, or an out of state school. So, if you are interested in AFROTC, then I recommend that you decide precisely which one of those three colleges you prefer. You do get to choose it.</p>

<p>For Naval ROTC, you are required to put on your list of five preferred colleges either ASU or U.Arizona. So, clarifying your choices for AFROTC will help you here. My recommendation is that you do NOT put both ASU and U.Arizona on the list – just pick one, so that you have more room for private colleges, or out of state universities. Besides the state school of your choice, I recommend considering the following for NROTC:</p>

<p>University of San Diego
George Washington University
Georgia Tech
Tulane
Boston University</p>

<ul>
<li>University of San Diego, because you can get in and the city itself is a huge Navy town. It even has USMC basic training there for extra points. Plus, USD will give you a 50% discount on room and board if you bring your NROTC scholarship there. USD is a private school (Catholic, actually, but only about half the students are Catholic). By the way, you could also apply to San Diego State and U.Cal-San Diego without listing them on your application. The scholarship is for the host school, but you can attend any of the “cross-town” schools if you are assigned to USD.</li>
<li>George Washington University, because it is a very good school and is in the nations capital. if you make the Navy a career eventually you will work there; so it might be nice to be familiar with the city. Only a few blocks from the White House.</li>
<li>Georgia Tech because you can get in, and because it is a truly great engineering school where your interest in robotics will be extremely welcomed. According to the following website, GT is ranked the 11th best engineering university – in the world! (Oops, I already said that in my first post, but so what. It’s true.)
<a href=“Subject Ranking 2013-14: Engineering & Technology | Times Higher Education (THE)”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/subject-ranking/subject/engineering-and-IT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
<li>Tulane University, because it is in the weirdest most interesting city in America, New Orleans, and because they give free room and board to all ROTC scholarship recipients.</li>
<li>Boston University, because it is in Boston (a great college town) and it is very military friendly. Gets pretty cold, though, for your Arizona blood. If you get interested, visit in winter to make sure you can tolerate the weather.</li>
</ul>

<p>Back to AFROTC… there is a way to go out of state or to a private college. To do this you have to convert your 4-year “type-7” AFROTC scholarship to a 3-year “type-2” AFROTC scholarship; then you have to make up the difference in tuition (the 3-year scholarship is worth $18,000 per year). A handful of schools will actually give you that extra money. Two that come to mind are the University of Portland (Oregon) and University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Also, both the University of Kentucky and University of Minnesota will allow you to simply bring your scholarship to them, and they will waive out of state tuition (UK will throw in free room and board too). Finally, Boston University and Tulane also appear willing to help financially with on this, but not clear what they actually offer.</p>

<p>For what it is worth, the Army ROTC scholarship is also very different from Navy and Air Force. If you have any interest in that, just let me know.</p>

9

<p>Several public universities have large ROTC units and are the largest commissioning sources outside of the academies and include: Auburn University, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech. Both A&M and Va Tech have a corps of cadets.</p>

10

<p>ROCTgrad thanks again and I am Interested in Army ROTC, additionally my grades are even going a little higher. A definite 3.8 and a possible 4.2 gpa, I suppose anything helps right!</p>

11

<p>Army ROTC gives you the most options. You can go to the college of your choice, and can major in anything you want. Army ROTC is in all 50 states and at almost every decent college in America; big, small, private, public.</p>

<p>The key thing with Army ROTC is that your scholarship is locked to a specific college. However, unlike NROTC or AFROTC, you can get awarded more than one Army ROTC scholarship; at different colleges in other words. Compared to the other two services, the Army is a little less interested in your academics and little more interested in sports and leadership.</p>

<p>Big Thought: Robotics is going to play a major role in the future of the military. This could be a huge benefit to your chances. So, continue your activities with robotics, and make sure to make it a central part of your application to all of these programs. All three branches will be impressed. You might also want to target colleges that have excellent robotics programs.
Look at Carnegie Mellon: <a href=“http://www.ri.cmu.edu/”>http://www.ri.cmu.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;